Electrode holder for gas blanketed electric arc weldings



Inventor Rog H A er w. ummm ttor'ney.

R. W. TUTHILL ELECTRODE HOLDER FOR GAS BLANKETED ELECTRIC ARC WELDINGSFiled Aug. 18, 1949 rdllllllllllla aldil: rllllllilllllflll Il May 29,1951 Patented May 29, 1951 ELECTRODE HOLDER FOR vGAS BLANKETED" ELECTRICARC WELDINGS Roger W. TuthilL West Springfield, Mass:, assignor .toGeneral Electric Company, a corporation of `New York Application August18, 1949,-SerialNo.110,968

1 Claim.

Myinvention relatesfto welding apparatus and more particularly toelectrodetholders adapted `for use in 'gasblanketed electric arcwelding'.-

Inv many industrial processes such as in the manufacture or.repairoffsurgical equipmentfor jewelry, it is often desired vtofastentwo relatively thin 'orf small metal :parts-*together with a-cleansmooth juncture4 Because accessibility for` resistancefspot welding,mayf bef, lacking,` it is often desirable in such applications to jointhe parts for fusioniusingga welding; process which does not requireasolid flux since such solid uX, if not completely remoyedrom .the .jointafter a brazing or other welding operation, may produce with certainmetals a...subsequentxcorrosionwhich is intolerable. A gas blanketed arcwelding process,`

commonly referred to as inert-arc welding is suitable for'v thispurpose.l In--inert-arc welding,

an electric arc, formed between the workvandafrelatively:non-:consumableelectrode, is surroundediby, afblanketofinertemonatomic gasysuch' as argon or; helium, in vorder vtoppreventoxidation-i andi; other 1 contamination "and thereby eliminatetheiusefoffa-` solid ux. The pool Yof fused :metal fo'rmed'bythe intenseheat ofvtheaarc solidies ;to form a weld surface which is smooth, cleanand without spatter.

Inert arc welding electrode holders which have heretofore been devisedhave been relatively large and of rigid and complicated structure due tothe means employed for electrically insulating the current and gasconducting parts of the holder from the operator and for providing anelectrically insulated support for a gas discharge directing nozzle. Asa result, such inert-arc welding torches are too unwieldy and cumbersomefor delicate welding work, such as mentioned above.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of my invention to provide anelectrode holder for use in gas blanketed electric arc welding which iscompact, flexible, light-weight and easily manipulatable, and thereforewell suited for extremely delicate welding work.

Another object ofmy invention is to provide an inert arc welding toolwhich has a simple economical construction and which is deformable tothat shape which is most conveniently manipulated when welding differenttypes of joints.

In general, my improved electrode holder comprises an internal iiexible,non-resilient tubular member functioning both as a gas and anelectricity conductor and encircled by an electrically insulating sheathcomposed of resilient heat resistant material, such as silicone rubber.Eleclet endof the tubulartmember anda gas discharge directingnozzlefadheres :to the end ofthe insulating sheath in a mannerto'surroundthe electrode;y Thisxresilient i heat resistant sheath servesmany purposes: It provides arflexibleinsulation to protect the'operatorfromthe danger of anxelectrical shockgfunctions asa simple nozzlelretaining means and vactsiasa gas seal toprevent an escapeiofgasthrough'the rear of the-nozzle.

The novel 'features which believeftobefcharacteristic'ofmy invention areset2forth'with particularity inthe appendedclaim'. My invention itself,however, togetherwith'furtherlobjects and` advantages thereof. can'-bestfbe understood by referencer to the following" description'- takenvin connection: withz the i: accompanying drawing.: in n which the-solelgurefis .afv sidefyiew; partly in section, of anvelectrode'holderpembodying myiinvention.

Referring'to thefigure; I have-shownfmy invention in one i. form ascomprising: :f an' insulating,

handle' l containing `a .gasrconduiti 2 riniwhich an electric currentfcarryingcablei-issinserted Tha deformableelectrically"conductiveetubularmember 4, preferably metallic, such as acopper tubing, by an electrically conductive and gas-tight couplingassembly comprising a threaded collar 5, a bilaterally tapered sealingring 6 and a compressing nut 'I arranged to be screwed on collar 5. Thiscoupling assembly is surrounded by a handle end portion 8 which ispreferably detachable in order to provide a ready access to the couplingnut l. The tubular member 4 functions to supply both gas and electricityto the welding tip.

Electrode gripping means are also provided in order to retain a Weldingelectrode 9 in a position axially extending from within the gasdischarging end of the tubular member 4. As illustrated in the drawing,this electrode gripping means may comprise a collet I0 secured to thetubular member 4 by such means as brazing and having a threaded endportion Il and a plurality of gripping tongs l2 axially extending beyondthe threaded end portion ll. A tapered collet gripping nut I3 isthreaded to the collet and functrode gripping means are secured to thegas out- 66 stand the high temperatures occurring during the weldingprocess without melting or chemical decomposition. In order to produce agas blanket around the Welding electrode, a plurality of gas outlets I5are formed in the body of the collet Il). It is apparent that the gasoutlets I5 may alternatively be located in the gas discharge end portionof the tubular member 4.

The ilexible sheath I4 extends axially to a point adjacent the gasoutlets I5 and a protective insulating heat resistant washer I6,preferably composed of a bre glass fabric melanine resin bondedmaterial, is interposed between the collet I and the end of sheath I4. Agas discharge directing nozzle I'I, which is preferably metallic, butmay be ceramic, is arranged to be inserted over the washer I6 and theend of the sheath I4. Due to the resilient nature of the sheath I4, thenozzle II adheres to the sheath I4 with close frictional engagement. Itwill be appreciated that the nozzle I1 may be easily detached by merelypulling it away from the sheath I4 with the result that the electrode 9may then be easily and rapidly replaced.

In the operation of my invention an inert gas is supplied through thegas conduit 2 and electricity is supplied through the cable 3 to thetubular member 4 which functions to carry electricity through theelectrode gripping means Lto the electrode 9 and to supply gas throughthe gas outlets I5 to the gas discharge directing nozzle I1. This nozzleI'I forms a gas shield or blanket around an electric arc struck betweenthe electrode 9 and the work.

It will be appreciated that due to the deformable tubular member 4 andthe resilient sheath I4, the front portion of the electrode holder maybe bent in any direction, as indicated by the dashed lines I8, in orderto enable the tool to be adapted for comfortable use on different typesof joints in various work assemblies. In addition, because of the manypurposes served by the sheath I4, a Very compact electrode holder ofsimple and economical construction is produced.

It is to be understood that while I have shown a particular embodimentof my invention many 4 modifications can be made, and I therefore intendby the appended claim to cover all such modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

An electrode holder adapted for use in gas blanketed electric arcwelding comprising an insulating handle, gas and electric conduitswithin said handle, a eXible noneresilient metal tubing connected at oneend to receive gas and electricity from said gas and electric conduits,said tubing having at least one gas outlet formed in the opposite endthereof, a silicone rubber sheath encasing said tubing and terminatingat a point adjacent said gas outlet end thereof, electric conductingelectrode gripping means secured to said tubing for retaining a weldingelectrode axially extending from within said gas outlet end of saidtubing, and a gas discharge directing nozzle encircling said terminatingportion of said sheath in close frictional engagement therewith andaxially extending to surround a retained electrode in spaced relationthereto, said silicone rubber sheath constituting a deformableprotective covering and electric insulation for said metal tubing, andalso constituting an axially aligning easily detachable mounting forsaid nozzle as well as a heat resistant gas seal at the rear of saidnozzle.

ROGER W. TUTHILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,953,915 Burgett et al l Apr. 3,1934 2,133,371 Ballard Oct. 18, 1938 2,314,628 Pavlecka Mar. 23, 19432,402,937 Stringham June 25, 1946 2,444,767 Cobean July 6, 19482,445,863 Sarazin July 27, 1948

